Georges Rayet
Encyclopedia
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
.
He was born in Bordeaux, France. He began working at the Paris Observatory
Paris Observatory
The Paris Observatory is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centres in the world...
in 1863. He worked on meteorology
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
in addition to astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
. He specialized in what was then the new field of spectroscopy
Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...
.
He was founder and director of the Bordeaux Observatory
Bordeaux Observatory
The Bordeaux Observatory is an astronomical observatory affiliated with the University of Bordeaux. Built in Floirac, France in 1893 its lenses were focused between +11 and +17 degrees declination. When in closed down in 1925 it had taken over 1260 plates . -External links:*...
for more than 25 years until his death.
He discovered Wolf-Rayet star
Wolf-Rayet star
Wolf–Rayet stars are evolved, massive stars , which are losing mass rapidly by means of a very strong stellar wind, with speeds up to 2000 km/s...
s together with Charles Wolf
Charles Wolf (astronomer)
Charles Joseph Étienne Wolf was a French astronomer.In 1862, Urbain Le Verrier offered him a post as assistant at the Paris Observatory.In 1867 he and Georges Rayet discovered Wolf-Rayet stars...
in 1867.
Obituaries
- AN 172 (1906) 111//112 (in French)
- ApJ 25 (1906) 53
- Obs 29 (1906) 332 (one paragraph)
- PASP 18 (1906) 280 (one sentence)